Guiseppe a



(No Model.)

G. A. ASTARITA.

A RAILROAD DANGER SIGNAL APPARATUS. No. 251,812. Patented Jan. 3,1882.

A T= mvENTuq:

l UNITED STATES PATENT rricn.

GUISEPPE A. ASTARITA, OF NEW YORK,

RAILROAD DANGER-SIGNAL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,812, dated. January 3, 1882. Application filed October 25, 1881. (No model.)

a native ofNaples, Italy, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Railroad DangerSignal Apparatus, of which the following is a specificationr The object of my invention is to prevent collisions upon single or double track railroads, and to this end I have devised certain novel combinations of mechanical devices placed beside the track and upon the locomotive or other part of the train, whereby a bell may be rung or other signal will be given upon the train when two trains are upon the same section or portion of track.

In carrying out my invention 1 place beside the track, and in suitable proximity thereto, a series of swinging arms, levers, or other equivalent devices, mounted upon posts or other supports, and connected to one another by an operating cord or chain, so that all of the arms or levers that are connected together may be simultaneously operated from either end of the series. The terminal levers of the series are so constructed that they may be operated by a projecting arm of any suitable construction placed upon the locomotive or other portion of a passing train, and the whole is so arranged that a train entering upon the section or portion of the track beside which the series of levers is placed will act upon the terminal levers of the series and throw them all into position for giving a signal upon an approaching train coming in an opposite direction, while, vice versa, the train uponleaving the section will act upon the lever at the departing end and throw all the levers of the series out of operative condition for giving a signal.

Upon the locomotive or other portion of the train are placed suitable bell-ringing devices, adapted to come into contact with the levers or other apparatus besidethe track, when said levers are in position to indicate that a train is upon the section of track to which they are applied.

in order to give a signal upon a train following another, the arm or lever at the entrance end of a section is'provided with a suitable device that is set into position by a passing train, so thatshould a second train pass before the first has left the section a bell upon the second train will be rung, thus indicating the presence of the first train upon the section.

In order to guard against the possibility of a collision between two trains approaching one another at or near the end of a section, I place signal-operatingarms orlevers upon both sides of the track, and arrange them with the series upon one side overlapping the series upon the other, so that it is impossible for two trains to approach nearer to one another than the distance covered by the overlapping portions of the series without a signal being given.

'The exactnature of my invention maybe more precisely understood from the following description and drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents in diagram a portion of a single-track railroad equipped with my apparatus, .the locomotives of two trains approaching one another being indicated in top view. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the swinging operating-arms to be used at the entrance and exit ends of a section of track, with a single intermediate tripping-arm for givingasignalupon a locomotive coming in an opposite direction from the locomotive which operates the entrance and exit levers, the three levers being connected by an Operating chain or'cord. Fig.3 isa frontview ot' a locomotive, showing the relation of the bell-ringing and signal-setting arms thereupon to the levers and tripping-arms beside the track.

A represents the swinging arm or lever at the entrance end of a series of levers. Said lever is adapted to be struck and swung by a projecting armnpon the locomotive or other portion of a train going in the direction indicated by the arrow No. 1. I

B represents a similarly-constructed lever at the departing end of the series, and O 0 rep-- resent a number ot'intermediate levers adapted to be swung into position where they will operate a signal upon a train going in an opposite direction.

A and B are the levers at the entrance and departing ends of a section or series of levers upon the other side of the track. Said levers are adapted to be operated by the same device and in the same manner as A and B by a train going in the direction indicated by the arrow 2.

O O are the levers or arms for operating a signal upon a train going in the opposite directionthat is, in the direction indicated by arrow 1. All of the arms in each series are connected by a chain or cord, so that they swing together, and may be swung from either end of the series.

LeverA may be constructed and operated in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 4;.

D represents a preferably rigid projection upon the right-hand side of the locomotive, adapted to engage, by means of a pin, a, upon its end, with the end of lever A, so as to swing the lever, and thereby move all the levers ot' the series. The lever B is constructed in the same manner, and is adapted to be struck-by the same arm and to restore all the levers to theiroriginalpositiozis. Bothleversaremount ed upon suitable posts beside the track.

E represents an arm attached to lever A and extending at right angles to the vertical portion thereof, while 6 is a pin mounted upon lever E, against which swinging arm H, upon the-same side of the locomotive as projection D, impinges when the lever A is turned so that the arm E occupies a positiontransverse to the track. The swinging arm H engages with a pivoted upright lever, K, upon the 10- comotive, to one end of which is attached a cord, L, leading to a bell of any desirable construction placed in the cab of the locomotive.

The swinging arms 0 are of any'desirable construction, and are mounted upon posts or other suitable supports beside the track in such a Way that they may swing easily in one direction, but are prevented from swinging in the other direction by a stop, so that they act to trip the bell-ringing devices upon the locomotive in the manner to be described. When these levers occupy a position transverseto the line of track they are in the path of a pin, N, upon the end of a lever, M, pivoted in any suitable manner upon the left-hand side of the 10- comotive. The arm M engages, by means of a projecting-arm, as shown, with the lower end of a pivoted lever, K, whose upper end is connected to the cord L, leading to a bell of any suitable construction. The levers O are placed at such a height that the arms H and D upon the right-hand side of the locomotive will not strike them. The levers A and B are at such a height that they will not be struck by the.

arm M.

locomotive going in the direction indicated by the arrow 1 will, upon entering the section, operate the lever A by means of projection D, thereby throwing it into the position indicated in dotted lines, at the same time throwing the levers B and O 0 into aposition transverse to the track, and also leaving arm E in a position to be struck by the bell-ringing lever H of a succeeding locomotive. When the train reaches the end of the section,which may he, say, a half-mile in length, it will find the arm B in a transverse position to the track, so that it will be struck by the projection D upon the locomotive, and the arms 0 and A will be restored to a normal position. Should a following train reach the entrance end before the preceding train has left the section it will find the arm E in position, so that the lever H will come into contact with said arm, thereby operating lever K upon the locomotive and ringing the warning-bell. If, while the train is upon the section, a train should approach in the opposite direction, or in that indicated by arrow 2, a signal will be given upon the approaching train by means of the arms 0 O, which, being transverse to the track, are in a position to engage with the arm M upon the left-hand side of the locomotive, and, being prevented by the stop from turning when struck,

will swing said arm M, and thereby operate lever K and cord L connected to the bell.

In order that the approaching locomotive may receive a signal in time to prevent a collision, should atrain be on the point of leaving the series of levers upon its right-hand side, I propose to arrange a second series of levers, A, O, and B, upon the opposite side of the track, with its end B midway between the ends B and A of the other series, so that the warning-signal will be given when the trains are at a distance apart at least equal-to half the length of a'section. This series of levers is arranged to be operated in the same manner as the'series upon theopposite side, so that the train going in the direction of arrow 1 will receive a signal from levers 0 should the latter be set in position by a train going in the direction of arrow 2. By this means the trains cannot approach one another nearer than half the distance of the series without the one or the otherreceiving a warning-signal.

It is to be understood that the swinging arms IIO or levers divided into sections of the proper I length are ranged beside the whole length of track, and that the end of one series or section isin close proximity to the ends of adjoining sections upon the same side of the track.

It is further to be understood that the ends of the sections upon the same side of the track 1 would in practice overlap one another two or more train-lengths, so that the lovers (l in one section would remain in position for giving a signal upon a following train should a train ahead stop for any reason immediately after passing the entrance end of a succeeding series orse'ction of levers.

My invention is not limited to any details in the manner of constructing, mounting, and

connecting the various levers or arms beside the track or upon thelocomotive. These specific features may therefore be varied in many ways.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, substantially as described, of a series of connected arms, levers,

the other side of the locomotive or other portion of the train, adapted to engage with the intermediate arms or levers of the series.

2. The combination, substantially as described, of a seriesof connected arms or levers ranged beside a railroad-track, a setting-projection upon a moving train, adapted to engage and turn the terminal levers of the series, signaling mechanism upon the same side of a following train as the setting projection, and an arm or projection upon the terminal lever at the entrance end of the series, adapted to he thrown into and out of the path of the said signaling mechanism, as set forth.

3. The combination, substantially as described, of a series of arms orlevers placed beside a railroad-track, a second series ranged upon the opposite side of the track and overlapping the first series, a setting-projection upon a locomotive or other portion of a train, adapted to engage with the terminal levers of the series upon one side of the track, bell-ringing devices upon the same side of a following locomotive with the setting-projection thereof, adapted to engage with a projection upon a terminal lever, and upon the other side of a locomotive or train a1l)proaching in the opposite direction bell-ringing devices adapted to engage with the inter mediate levers of a series orsection.

GUISEPPE A. ASTARITA.

Witnesscs H. O. TOWNSEND, THos. TOOMEY. 

